Date of Award

Summer 8-2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Keith C. Radley III

Committee Chair Department

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Daniel Tingstrom

Committee Member 2 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Brad A. Dufrene

Committee Member 3 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 4

Evan H. Dart

Committee Member 4 Department

Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training on the implementation of an evidence-based teaching method by student interventionists for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three elementary school students were trained to use an applied behavior analysis (ABA) based instructional method, known as discrete trial training (DTT), to teach academic skills to children with ASD. A multiple baseline across individuals was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the behavioral skills training and peer-mediated DTT procedures. Generalization of the interventionist’s ability to teach new, previously untrained target behaviors was assessed by conducting generalization probes throughout the study. The results of this study replicated the results of previous studies that have demonstrated the utility of BST to train others to implement DTT in school settings. And, similar to previous research, peer-mediated DTT resulted in an improvement in the acquisition of targeted academic skills. Furthermore, this study provided preliminary evidence that the elementary students may generalize DTT procedures across a variety of target skills. Additional research is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of peer-mediated DTT in school settings.

ORCID ID

0000-0001-9977-7570

Download

Share

COinS